Rescuers are battling to reach residents trapped under mud and boulders in eastern Afghanistan after a major flood struck the region, killing at least 23 people. The national disaster agency and the provincial governor's office report that around 100 people are unaccounted for following Monday's deluge. An AFP journalist witnessed dozens of people in remote Parun, the capital of Nuristan province, using wooden poles and their bare hands to search for the missing.
Farid Gul Zaheer, a 34-year-old pharmacist, described the flood as the most dangerous he had ever witnessed. 'It felt like there was an earthquake, and I heard children and people screaming,' he said, recounting his injury while trying to escape up the mountain. On Tuesday, a bulldozer was of limited use in clearing some debris in Parun, where the flood buried multiple shops and brought huge boulders that smashed into buildings.
Parun's mayor and other government employees are among the missing, according to the governor's office. Zakirullah Zaki, manager of the Spogmai Hotel, described the event as 'an act of God' that completely destroyed the rest of the hotels, markets, and shops. The Spogmai Hotel, though still standing, was surrounded by destruction, and Zaki's missing younger brother was later found.
Juma Khan Nayel, communications chief for the Afghan Red Crescent Society, described the situation as 'devastating' with water rising to unprecedented levels. Dozens of volunteers are working by hand, using shovels, to aid in the rescue efforts. 'Right now, urgently, we are supplying some food, water, and tents for those whose homes have been destroyed,' Nayel told AFP. The Afghan defence ministry has deployed the military to support the relief effort, while the United Nations is assessing the disaster.
The flooding and rain have also affected neighbouring Pakistan, where 12 people were killed according to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's provincial disaster agency. More than 200 people were killed in flooding and rain that hit Afghanistan and Pakistan between March and April. Afghanistan's head of the environmental protection agency, Mawlavi Mati-ul-Haq Khalis, noted that the country is particularly vulnerable to climate change, with increased flooding contributing to a humanitarian crisis.